Friday, October 16, 2009

About two weeks ago we brought you the first four parts of this brilliant Jonny Wilkinson documentary from 2002. Today we have the rest of it, allowing you to get to know the man a little better, as well as see him at his best on the field.

In 2009, Wilkinson is currently revelling in his new lease on life with an injury free season at Toulon. As he says in his fascinating column, things are going great at the moment.

"This is exciting. It is years since I have had any continuity in my rugby, but since my season has started here in Toulon I have finally been able to put together a run of games.”

He’s now played over ten consistently, without injury, a point that he’s quite frank about, but he also knows that it could all change at any moment.

“Since the 2003 World Cup, I think the best run I'd had was six in 2004," he said.

"Not for a minute would I tempt fate by suggesting that the injury days are behind me - I still approach every game and training session as if it might be my last - but after such a long period of shut-out, the door is now open and I am ever keener to make the most of every opportunity.

"People want to know how I rate my form, but I almost always say about six out of 10. When I get a bit farther down the road, I might get as far as six-and-a-half. Or maybe not. There is so much more that I am shooting for here; I am still nowhere near where I want to be."

It’s fascinating to watch this documentary from back then, as we see Wilkinson and his mentors talk about the future and the goals that he has. It’s possibly one of the best insights around in terms of what the actual man himself is like off the field.

We also get to see that he’s an absolute workaholic and is obsessive about everything he does, which is probably why he’s considered to be one of the greatest flyhalfs of all time.

We’ll end with a quote from the documentary, which I’m sure will be remembered when he puts on that esteemed white jersey again at the end of the year.

He was incredible in 2002-03. He was just a points machine....snap drop goals from all over the place of either foot. Penalties from anywhere. Also seems like a genuinely decent guy and class act. Shame about the injuries.

One of the greatest fly halfs to grace our great sport and i think he's got another world cup in him easily. Any England team without him seems to underachieve. Lets hope he stays fit and continues the great form he's showing at Toulon because seeing Jonny walking out for England just makes me feel all round optimistic about our chances.